Anyone out there ever used a black mouthed cur breed for cattle work? Wondered if they were supposed to be good, an all around kind of dog...like Old Yeller? That dog was supposed to be a BMC, but who knows? Anyways, curious! We are looking for a dog or mix of breeds other than aus. shepherd and border collie, need something that will move cattle, heel a bit, not back down, and can also protect our ranch from wolves if they come around again!

Never had one of my own, but several friends have, have had and prefer Blackmouths. Pretty universal as cowdogs, hog dogs, varmit gitters, etc. If I could get a couple of them on Ranchers as members they could give you their opinions.

We use them. There is not a better dog IMO. They will hunt, track, bay, and gather. They are great with our kids and protective of the family. The would give their life to save yours. Only downside is some can be a little hard headed. You are right Ol Yeller was based on a BMC.

M&K Cattle wrote:We use them. There is not a better dog IMO. They will hunt, track, bay, and gather. They are great with our kids and protective of the family. The would give their life to save yours. Only downside is some can be a little hard headed. You are right Ol Yeller was based on a BMC.

Sounds just like what we need...we hunt cats in the winter here, move lots of cattle in the summer/fall, and have to deal with griz and wolves, and have a young son who i'm sure will hunt squirrels here on the creek in a few years My border collie/aus. shepherd has learned how to tree cats and he thinks he is a cow dogs but he isn't. We have a redtick hound who can track and tree like no other and we take her cowboying and she can bay at the cows and get them to move pretty well but she isn't a cow dog! BMC sounds like a perfect fit for our life though! Can you refer a breeder at all? Thanks to all for your thoughts!

We had one that was part black mouth cur. Best cowdog we ever
owned. Some people in Montana raised them for years, but I don't
know where those folks are now. We had a female, as the males
are too hard-headed for our liking.
Her one problem was that she was over protective
of her property...she had a criminal record with some of our neighbors.
She barked at people and meant
business but she never in her life
barked at a cow. And tough, oh man, was she tough.
I never saw a cow buffalo her.
We miss her still. She got really old and we had to put her down. That was a tough year.
As I say, we still miss her.

Good luck in finding just what you need.

There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.

You might also consider a catahoula dog. I've had both catahoula and BMC. They are both great dogs but the catahoulas I've had have a little more grit and staying power than the BMCs. Just make sure you get well bred working dogs in either breed.

Have a male laying right beside my chair now. 10 yrs old. Flew down to Gulfport Ms to get him a 4 wks old from Ladners (long time breeders who use them primarily as hunting dogs).

He started working livestock really early without any prompting from me, just wanting to please. Note of caution: Pretty darn hardheaded about quiting once they get going. So much so that I ended up with a shock collar for a while(once he learned I wasn't just yelling he came around to my viewpoint).

Mine IS a criminal. You just don't come into my house without me around and if you get on the property, you're going to get bit, gets real serious,real quick. Once I tell him it's OK, it's OK.

I hunt him in the PU. When he starts to really whine, you need to stop,let him out because he's got a coon that he will catch on the ground. Will not open his mouth unless treed. Record of 7 in one half hour evening. Wore us all out. Sucker will also flush pheasants,quail.

Local police have called me to track people with he 3 times, so he does have a reputation. Good dogs but treat them with respect.